The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

Yujing Hutong is not like Chang'an Street, which is surrounded by wealthy families. It takes about an hour to get to the gate of the imperial city. It is not a center of power and nobility, but it is a place where rich families gather.

The whole alley is long and full of merchants who travel all over the country. It is not easy for merchants to settle down. When they have money, they buy a house in Kyoto. When they are short of money, they sell the house in exchange for silver and money.

Therefore, the owners of the houses in Yujing Hutong often changed three or four times a year. People came and went, and new faces often appeared. Many dignitaries also liked to place their concubines here.

To the south of Yujing Hutong, near Bibo Lake, there are several two-story courtyards. One of them has a vermilion door, and the paint on the door is peeling, with red and white patches, which looks very mottled.

The door was inlaid with a ferocious lion with a copper ring in its mouth. The copper ring had green spots on it, and it looked like the courtyard had fallen into disrepair.

To the left of the courtyard gate stood a crooked jujube tree, with forked branches and one side of the tree already extending into the courtyard wall. All the buds had sprouted, but only this tree had a hint of spring.

The courtyard door was closed, and a group of two little kids were playing with their knuckles at the gate. With a creak, the door opened slightly, and an old, deep voice was heard, saying, "Xiaochuan, what are you doing outside? Come in quickly."

An old man carried the child in like a chicken, and with a creaking sound, he closed the door.

The courtyard was spacious, and the furnishings of the courtyard could be seen at a glance. There were three main rooms, two secondary rooms, and wing rooms on the east and west sides. A wooden man was placed in the middle of the courtyard, and a row of weapon racks on the left were displayed with swords, spears, and halberds. It was obvious that the old man and the child were not the owners of this house.

In the main bedroom, a beautiful lady sat upright, wearing a bright red wedding dress and a phoenix crown inlaid with gold and agate. The red veil had disappeared. She wore red gold bracelets on both hands, which made her wrists shiny.

But upon closer inspection, the woman had a dull expression on her face, sitting there without saying a word, with empty, unfocused eyes.

Across the wall from the bedroom, a man in black clothes with broad shoulders and narrow waist stood beside the desk with his hands behind his back. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He must have just returned from the martial arts arena in the courtyard, and there were still some fine beads of sweat on his face.

This room is a special place. You can clearly see everyone and everything in the bedroom, but you can't see this partition from the direction of the bedroom.

An Yi, who was standing hunched over, was reporting back: "Master, the woman in the room is confirmed to be the wife of the Crown Prince who was married to the Duke of Lu's mansion today."

It wasn't her. The man was a little shocked. Could it be that his note yesterday had served as a warning? Did Shen Baozhao not marry in her place?

An Yi was a little confused by the order he received today. His master ordered him to capture the bride of the prince of Lu and treat her well. In all these years, no woman has been able to attract his master's attention. Could it be?

An Yi straightened his mind. The master's mind was not something that ordinary people could see. Then he said, "But she was poisoned by the walking dead. And she is pregnant."

When he said the second half of the sentence, he glanced at his master's expression.

"The walking dead?" The man's pupils constricted.

This poison is both overbearing and harmless. Within ten hours after being poisoned, the person will be like a walking corpse, numb and stiff. The person has no consciousness, just like a puppet, he can do whatever he is told to do, and he has no consciousness.

After five hours, he was as normal as ever, with no signs of poisoning, and he couldn't remember what had happened before.

"Tell Shadow to go to Poison Star Valley and ask Valley Master Luo who else he gave the medicine to besides Prince Huai's Mansion." It turned out that the man was the current emperor's younger brother, Prince Huai, Xiao Yuanhuai.

"As for the one in the bedroom," King Huai raised his eyebrows, "continue to feed her a pill of the walking dead. Don't move her for now."

"Wait, feed her another Huamai Pill." Huamai Pill can cover up the pregnancy pulse for three days. In this way, Shen Yan will not be discovered to be pregnant within three days.

Three days later, she had naturally married into the Duke of Lu's mansion without any complications.

"I obey your command." He thought to himself, after all, he is his master, so how could he be the kind of person who would be gentle with women?

King Huai turned around and sat on the chair behind the desk. He tapped the desk with his left index finger and continued to ask, "Where is the one in the woodshed?"

"Your Highness, when I was preparing to act, I saw a young man attack the prince of the Duke of Lu with a hidden weapon. First, one of the weapons hit the horse's hind leg. The horse kicked back in pain. The prince of the Duke of Lu saw that he had lost control and was about to be thrown over."

"Seeing this, he jumped off his horse. Then the young man attacked with another hidden weapon, breaking the prince's left Achilles tendon. He fell to the ground in pain, and his left leg was also broken." An Yi described the situation truthfully.

The young man was really good at using hidden weapons. There were so many people on the street, and if he hadn't set up an ambush in the dark, he wouldn't have been able to see who made the move.

A trace of surprise appeared on King Huai's face. "Did you find out the identity of the boy?"

"No, he seemed very alert. He followed me for several streets, but then I lost him. However, I noticed a big black mole on his forehead. If he showed up, I should be able to recognize him immediately." An Yi said.

I thought that the person looking from the back was a handsome young man, but I didn't expect that he looked very ordinary, even a little ugly.

God is fair. If you open a door, you have to close the window. Not everyone is like their master, who can do everything well. I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. I didn't think about my face full of acne at all.

"The one in the woodshed, I'll go take a look myself." Xiao Yuanhuai said to An Yi.

The yard was small, and the woodshed was next to the kitchen. There was a stove that had not been used for a long time, and firewood was piled up next to it.

A man in a bright red wedding dress was lying on the ground, his eyes covered with a black cloth, his hands tied behind his back with hemp rope, and his legs were also tied in the same way. His face was pale, as if he could not bear it.

The sweat on his face mixed with an unknown liquid dripped onto the ground. The dust on the ground stuck to the sweat and covered one side of his cheek. He no longer had the high spirits he had when he was riding a horse to welcome his bride.

Xiao Yuanhuai looked at the man. Was this the man she had been dreaming about when she was young? He didn't look that good.

When Chen Ke heard the door open, he struggled and shouted, "You are so brave, do you know who I am?"

"Oh, who are you?"

"My father is the Duke of Lu, and I am the eldest son of the Duke of Lu. I advise you to be sensible and send me back immediately, otherwise I will never let you go in the future." Chen Ke threatened.

Xiao Yuanhuai sneered: "Prince of the Duke of Lu? If I kill you today, what future will you have?" Xiao Yuanhuai bent down and spoke slowly in front of Chen Ke.

"If you dare, you can't escape even if you kill me. My father will not let you go." Chen Ke was still very stubborn.

Xiao Yuanhuai stood up and shook his robe: "Don't worry, I won't kill you."

After hearing this, Chen Ke felt relieved. As expected, most people would not dare to offend others.

Only to hear a gentle voice coming from the direction of An Yi: "Cripple his right leg, and throw him and his bride to the gate of the Duke of Lu's mansion."

After saying that, he lifted up his robe and strode out the door. Soon, he heard Chen Ke screaming and begging for mercy from behind.

Chen Ke is considered useless.